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A Congolese woman, who says she survived repeated, violent sexual attacks during conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and while fleeing through neighbouring countries, is at the centre of a high court challenge over SA’s asylum process.
The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (Isla) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said they have approached the Pretoria high court to review and set aside the rejection of the woman’s asylum application, arguing that officials failed to properly consider the impact of trauma and gender-based persecution.
According to a joint statement released on Wednesday, the organisations filed the application on June 19, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The organisations say the case raises broader concerns about how SA assesses asylum claims from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
The woman, whose identity has been withheld, is from South Kivu in eastern DRC. Isla and LHR said she was repeatedly raped by soldiers before fleeing with her children. They allege she was later sexually exploited by border officials while travelling through Burundi, Tanzania and Mozambique before reaching SA in about 2006 or 2007.
The organisations said her asylum application was rejected after the Refugee Appeals Authority found her account was inconsistent and ruled that she had not credibly established her claim.
They argue the decision failed to adequately consider the effects of trauma, language barriers and the passage of time on her ability to recount her experiences consistently.
Isla and LHR contend that the decision was unlawful under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and failed to recognise conflict-related sexual violence as persecution in line with the Refugees Act and international law.
They are asking the court to review and set aside the ruling.
The organisations said the woman has since been detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre after living in SA for years with unresolved immigration documentation. They argue that returning her to the DRC would breach the international principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits sending people back to places where they face threats to their lives or safety.
Beyond the individual case, Isla and LHR have called on the department of home affairs to introduce gender-sensitive asylum procedures, train officials in trauma-informed credibility assessments, recognise gender-based violence as persecution and ensure asylum seekers are not detained or deported while their legal status remains unresolved.
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